Sustainable Savings Tips

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With a click, Los Angeles residents can save money, water, and electricity while beating the summer heat. Whether it’s:

The links below will help community members stay safe and reduce their bills while conserving water and electricity.

How to Keep Your Home Cool

Generally speaking, urban areas are hotter than nearby rural areas because we don't have as much greenspace and all of our buildings and dark pavement absorb and emit a lot of heat. But some urban communities suffer more than others from extreme heat: Marginalized and historically redlined communities are generally hotter than affluent and historically privileged communities. Here are 12 DIY and affordable home hacks that will help you stay cool when the weather heats up.

Keep your window coverings closed. This might sound obvious, but it’s also really effective at the lowest cost. Almost all the heat baking you during hot summer days enters your residence via windows, even when they’re tightly closed. Less heat streaming into your home means less need for that air conditioner. The U.S. Department of Energy has suggestions about the best window coverings.

Upgrade your window treatments. Blackout curtains aren’t the prettiest but they really keep out heat. Luckily, there are options! Medium- or neutral-colored curtains with white plastic backing can reduce heat gain by as much as 33 percent. You can also opt for with triple-woven fabric or curtains with thermal backing. The advice site Angi has some affordable window-treatment suggestions.

Add some plants. If you place big leafy plants near light-facing windows, they will act like a natural curtain to shield your interior space from the sun’s strong rays and keep the heat down.

Shut the door. If you’re not using a room, keep that door closed during the hottest part of the day. No need to try and keep your bathroom or bedroom cool if you’re not in it. When temperatures start to drop, though, open doors and windows to let the cooler air in.

 

Create a cross breeze. It’s not quite a contradiction from our suggestion to shut the door. Timing is everything: On days when there is a breeze, or temperatures have gone down in the evenings, open windows to get the cooler air flowing. If you have a fan, point it at the open window to suck the hot air out of your residence.

Opt for light sleeping materials. If you don’t want to splurge on special cooling sheets, make sure you’re as cool as you can be with the ones you have. Breathable cotton is best in summer months.

Lower your mattress. Since heat rises, sleeping closer to the floor can help you stay cool. And it’s a lot cheaper than buying a new mattress with built-in cooling gel.

Reset your ceiling fans. Make sure they rotate counter-clockwise in summer. It will move cool air downward and result in what’s known as the wind chill effect, which makes the air feel cooler regardless of the temperature.

 

Put a bucket of ice in front of your fan. It’s a super simple way to make the air coming from your fan a little cooler. It’s quick and easy, and you can chill a drink in that bucket while you’re at it.

Use your exhaust fans. Turn on your bathroom fan after a hot shower and the one in the kitchen while you’re cooking and for a bit after you’re through. The fans work to pull out hot air and moisture, which will keep temperatures down.

Swap out your lightbulbs. Changing your incandescent bulbs to CFL or LED makes sense, since close to 90 % of the energy used by incandescents is emitted in the form of heat. Plus, they’re more expensive to use.

Control your body temperature. We’re in a drought so don’t go crazy, but use water to cool down: Take a cool shower before bed; turn hot water bottles into ice packs by filling and freezing them before bedtime; and drink chilled water throughout the day.

For more information, be in touch at: info@urbanrenewable.org